Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-03-20
LIFE IN WILD SIBERIA.
How People Exist in One of the
Colder Countries IN the Warld.

AAOW = koORhc E4Ast AM Omc Oh the
COidest Countries An the World.
.'In each cabin is the large fireplace,
which is used for both heating and cook.
ing, " said Lieutenant w. H. Scheutze,
who has travelled in northwest Siberia.
''There is seldom more than one room
in these cabins. and usually the owners
cattle, if he has any, occupy one end of
the room in which he lives, being tied or
prevented from tramping on the babies
by bar. The houses are commonly
very comfortable, but are awfully dirty,
and smell-there is no word to describe
it. Often, until got used to it, would
rather lay down in the snow outside,
with the thermometer 80 degrees below
zero, than sleep in one Of these huts.
But you've no idea what q man can
stand when he has to-"
"Have they windows in their houses?"
"Yes; ice windows. They use ice as
we use glass. A clear piece is selected
about five or six inches thick, mortised
in the window opening in blocks two
feet and sometimes as large as four feet
square, and with water is made solid.
The water is as good as putty. When
the window becomes dirty they scrape it
off with knife, and when it has been
scraped thin they substitute new
pane.'
Doesn't the window ever melt?"
''Bless you, no; it is freezing cold that
far from the fire. If the room ever got
warm enough to melt the ice the Yakut
couldn't live in it, and would have to go
outdoors to cool off. At night the fire is
allowed to 60 out. as they have to econ.
omize in fuel. All they have is drift
wood, gathered on the banks of the
Lena river in the summer time"
"How do they sleep? Do they un.
dress when they go to bed?"
"Always. They "trip to their shirts,
which are made of thick sort of Rus
sian cloth, as heavy as our canvas. The
men and women wear the same kind of
garments, and never have more than
one at time. took up lot of thick |
flannel for them, enough to last the rest |
of their lifes, and it will be great deal |
more comfortable than the native stuff, |
although they don't like it at first.
When they undress they get into hunks
built into the side OF the house, some
times man, his wife, and all his chill.
dren in the came bunk. They have
reindeer skins under and over them, and
curtains of the same hanging before the
bunks.''
"Do they ever bathe ?"
"Never in their lives. They haven't
any word for bathing in their language,
and the impossibility of keeping clean is
one of the greatest hardships of Arctic
Iife."
"What do they eat?''
"Reindeer meet, beef-they have cows,
queer looking animals about half as large
rs ours, with hummock on their backs
like camel-fish, bread made of black
rye flour, tea, and an imported food made
Of chopped beef rolled into balls about
the size of marble and covered with a
dough. These they pound up and make
into soup. Then there is wood that is
very nutritious when it is ground up and
boiled. Mixed with reindeer meat it
makes q good soup. They often eat
their fish raw. Of course, they freeze
solid as soon as they are taken out of the
water. and the native, particularly if he
is on the road, cuts them off in shavings
as thin as our chopped beef, and eats
them raw. They are palatable, and
have lived for days at a time on them,
with cup of coffee, made over an
alcohol lamp, by way of variety, The
greatest luxury they have is butter, and
they will eat it by the pound as our
people eat confectionery. A poor sort of
butter is made from the milk of native
COW, that looks and tastes more like
cheese, and they prize it above all other
classes of food.
'.The amount of butter q native will
eat when he can get it," continued Lieu.
tenant Scheutze, sis astonishing. A
friend of mine in Siberia told me of a
man who ate thirty.six pounds in one
day, and then didn't get all he wanted.
They have way of pounding up red
berry aud mixing it with butter which
gives it beautiful pink tint and i'm
proves the flavor. Their drink is the
Russian vodka, almost pure alcohol, and
they will trade their shirts for it. The
liquor is scarce but expensive, so they
IRE necessarily temperate people.
Cincinnati Sun.